Colon cancer survivor helps raise awareness

Valdosta - Today, Robbie Moody feels great and looks like the picture of health. "I’ve started doing 5K runs," said Moody.

You’d never guess that six months ago, she almost died. "He sent me to ICU on a ventilator with an ileostomy and said it was touch and go, actually he told everyone to pray," said Moody.

Robbie was diagnosed with colon cancer last June, and in September, she underwent surgery to have the cancerous tumor removed. Everything looked to be fine, until she got home. "The staples gave way in my abdomen and I had infection all over and almost died," said Moody.

Miraculously, Robbie survived and believes she’s alive today for an important reason. "To try to share the message so other families won’t have to go through what mine did," said Moody.

The message of how important it is to get a colonoscopy. Robbie had been getting sigmoidoscopies for several years before she got sick, but those tests never found anything. "The sigmoidoscopy only goes 1/3 of the way into the colon, my tumor was at the very end in the cecum area," said Moody.

A colonoscopy would have detected the cancer and spared Robbie months of treatment and recovery. Doctors think the cancer is gone now, but she’ll have to be watched closely, and must return often for checkups. "I’m just thankful for another chance at life," said Moody.

Another chance to live, and to raise awareness so others can have that gift too.